When changing the bit of a router, it is necessary to use hand tools such as wrenches, or the like, in order to provide adequate mechanical advantage to safely tighten or loosen the bit within a router collet. For instance, most routers require the use of a first wrench to lock a router drive shaft from rotation while a second wrench is used to loosen a bit attached to the drive shaft. However, it is often desirable to quickly attach a bit to a drive shaft or to quickly remove the bit from the drive shaft during one operation employing the router. For example, several router bits may be needed throughout the course of shaping a single work piece with a hand-held router, and it may be desirable to change between the bits quickly and efficiently. The use of one or more wrenches or like tools for changing between the bits is inefficient and thus undesirable in such applications, because of the additional time and effort required for attaching and removing the bits to and from the drive shaft via the wrenches.
Additionally, because the collet which receives the router bit is usually recessed within a shield or shroud, or surrounded by an assembly such as a router table or the like, it may be very difficult to reach the collet and the drive shaft with the appropriate tools for changing the bit. Another problem may arise when a router bit must be secured to a drive shaft at a remote location. The absence of a wrench or some other suitable device may effectively prevent the removal or replacement of the bit from the drive shaft.